


in the dark

by eso (cazzy)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Drabble, M/M, brief and vague mention of torture, please let these boys be happy in season 2
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-02
Updated: 2017-01-02
Packaged: 2018-09-14 04:03:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 689
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9160411
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cazzy/pseuds/eso
Summary: It's bittersweet that their mutual love for the stars has brought them here.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This is actually from awhile ago, but I figured I'd throw it up because the world always needs some more Shatt.

They love space in different ways.

Shiro fell in love with the stars before he could even walk. He'd look up to the atmosphere, neck craned as far back as possible in order to stare at the stars and the planets and the Milky Way streaking across the mountain sky in a vivid swirl, and he'd longed to capture the feeling rising in his chest. The vast expanse of the universe surrounding him had always captured his attention, and now, the desire to _explore_ thrums in his veins. He’ll conquer that sky, someday, and nothing less will satisfy his fevered wanderlust.

Matt, though... Matt is enamored by the science of it all. The fact that the human race even _exists_ is nothing short of wondrous, and he has the insatiable curiosity and thirst for knowledge that only the greatest scientists of Earth boast about. It's one of his most admirable traits, although Shiro could wax poetic about his _admirable traits_  for hours.

But it's their differences that has brought them together, and between the three of them, their excitement as they near their destination is palpable, contagious.

Shiro is well aware that Matt, if left unattended, will completely lose himself in the research he’s brought aboard. The scientist has been known to skip meals for _days_ when provided with proper material about black holes and stardust and the possibility of alien life, and it's why Shiro’s completely unsurprised when he moves about their spacecraft and comes across Matt, slumped over his desk and drooling on top of a book.

“Cute,” he whispers before he can stop himself, because Matt _is._ He’s nestled comfortably within the nook of his crossed arms, and the frame of his glasses are knocked askew because of the position.

It would be a shame to wake him, especially since this is probably the first bit of rest the brunet has gotten in who _knows_ how long, but just as Shiro is about to turn and slip away quietly, Matt’s head shoots up as he's startled awake.

A piece of paper clings stubbornly to his cheek - _very_  important research, judging by the crude doodles scrawled across its surface - and Shiro can’t help but laugh through Matt’s annoyed, sleepy complaints.

(And Shiro would never complicate their current mission with something like his _feelings_ , but it’d be a lie to say he’s not counting down the days until they return to Earth.)

 

* * *

 

The cell designated for specimens from System X-9-Y is always too cold, too barren, too cruel in its simplicity. 

When Shiro is shoved roughly past the bars and into their shared prison, it fills him with an acute sense of relief to see that Matt is curled up in the corner, sleeping. It means that the aliens haven’t touched him today - he never sleeps on the days that they do.

Their captors leave, and Shiro wastes no time scrambling closer toward his comrade. He looks exhausted, even while unconscious, and a shiver wracks his frame as he sidles up closer. They’re long past the point of caring how it may look to share body heat, but still he swallows around the lump in his throat before he presses the line of his body against Matt’s form. _Surviving_ this, getting Matt and Sam out of here, is his only mission now, and he doesn’t have the _time_ to think about how intimate this position could be in other circumstances.

“I’ll protect you until the day I die,” Shiro says, and he’s saying it aloud instead of thinking it because the echo of his words in the small cell and the vibration of his vocal chords as he does so reaffirm the only truth he knows, anymore. 

If they do make it out, he wonders if they'll still love the stars as much as they had a lifetime ago.

He refuses to sleep while Matt is so vulnerable, and time passes slowly as he stares at the dull grey wall of their cell.

 

* * *

 

Matt has long since perfected the art of swallowing down his tears without a sound, and it is a small blessing that Shiro never notices.

  



End file.
